Why It’s Great That You’re Not Good

Unpopular yet profitable opinion - you’re just not good enough.

Yet.

Context:

I was on a podcast with Matthew Volkwyn who teaches copywriters how to get clients.

Standard question comes up: "How do new copywriters get their first paid gig?"

My answer?

Don't.

Start for FREE.

Because you're not good enough to charge.

Look, here's the brutal truth...

When you don’t have a reputation, selling is hard.

You're trying to convince someone to pay you thousands...

Based on what?

Your completion certificate from some course?

So you end up in this weird dance...

Pushing HARD to get them to pay you...

Creating massive expectations...

And pressure that makes you perform WORSE.

It's backwards.

Instead, try this crazy idea...

Start for free.

Get a result.

THEN quote based on that result.

Guess what happens?

You often make MORE on the second project...

Than you ever would've charged for the first.

Because now you have PROOF.

Not promises. Proof.

This applies to literally everything...

The better you get, the more people chase YOU.

And different people have different levels of desperation.

I regularly have two clients wanting to hire me for similar work.

Same effort on my end.

But Client A will pay 5X more than Client B.

Why?

Maybe they have a bigger opportunity.

Maybe they're up against a deadline.

Maybe their business model prints more money.

Maybe all of the above.

Doesn't matter.

What matters is I can do the SAME work...

For the SAME hours...

And get paid 10X more.

Just by being choosy.

But here's the catch...

You only get choice when you have a reputation.

And you only get a reputation when you deliver results.

Applies beyond client work

My secret weapon for everything new...

I intentionally underprice it.

New product? Underpriced.

New service? Underpriced.

New partnership? You guessed it.

Why?

Because I want to see how valuable it ACTUALLY is.

Not how valuable I THINK it is.

If customers struggle with it...

I've got work to do before world domination.

If they get good (but not great) results...

I'm not ready for premium pricing yet.

But when we absolutely CRUSH it...

Customers feel like they robbed us blind.

And I'm ready to optimize and take over the market.

Results are the only currency that matters in marketing.

Everything else is just noise.

So stop trying to "fake it til you make it."

Start trying to "prove it til you improve it."

Accelerate how fast you get those results.

Even if it means working for free at first.

Even if it means underpricing initially.

Because once you have those results...

You can charge higher prices than anyone in your market.

And STILL be the best deal.

The math is simple:

Free work that gets results > Paid work that doesn't.

Underpriced excellence > Overpriced mediocrity.

Proof beats promises every damn time.

So swallow your ego.

Price low.

Deliver high.

Get results.

Then watch what happens to your rates.

Spoiler alert: They go through the roof.